It was a deserved victory in front of a breathtaking backdrop: Katrin Eckermann and Chao Lee (v. Comme il Faut) secured the victory in the CSI5* Grand Prix over 1.50 m at the Longines Global Champions Tour in Vienna on Saturday. In front of the historic facade of Schönbrunn Castle and in front of an enthusiastic audience, fifteen pairs had fought out an exciting showdown in the final. And as every second counted, Eckermann delivered the evening’s performance.
With a time of 36.42 seconds, Katrin Eckermann and Chao Lee were more than a second ahead of the Belgian Nathan Budd and Ely des Rosiers Z (v. Emerald), who finished in second place with 37.76 seconds. Gudrun Patteet and Baron – RR Z (v. Bamako de Muze), also from Belgium, completed the podium after another fast double round in 37.89 seconds.
„It’s something very special to win at this fantastic venue because my family is here and I get so much support from the Iron Dames family. All of this together has really made the atmosphere unforgettable for me,‚ said Katrin Eckermann after her triumph.
She added: „Chao Lee and I fought until the very last moment. With her, I share such a long and wonderful story – she was born on my father’s farm, and after so many years of shared time, we trust each other completely.“
Even before the start of the steeplechase, there was plenty of drama. The 1.50m course presented a real challenge for the entire field of competitors: poles were falling everywhere, and some of the sport's biggest names decided to give up and spare their horses for another day, including Henrik von Eckermann with Hylanderhof's Saruschka and Olivier Philippaerts with Ragazzo AV.
First among them were Edwina Tops-Alexander and Cydello (v. Cascadello) who entered the arena for the competition and absolutely wasted no time. Moving quickly from start to finish, they completed the first double round in 42.48 seconds, setting a solid benchmark. The question was simply: Would that be fast enough?
It didn’t take long to find out just how much faster the course could be ridden. Niels Bruynseels and Chacco’s Lando OL (v. Chacco-Blue) flew over the shortened course, took the inside curve on the rollback to the Longines oxer, but then a pole fell to the ground. They crossed the finish line with four errors in 38.88 seconds – almost four seconds faster than Edwina and proof that there was still plenty of time to make up.
The Irishman Denis Lynch and Ping Pong van de Lentamel (v. Emerald) then once again delivered a flawless result. Smooth and controlled, they let the pole fall in 42.73 seconds and were only fractions behind top-ranked Alexander. The former LGCT champion Peder Fredricson and Code Black (v. Bengt Nabab) took a different approach. Instead of taking any risks, the Swedish star delivered a measured double zero-fault result and arrived safely in 43.06 seconds.
Then things really kicked off in the final sprint. Sophie Hinners and Iron Dames Kaleni Jo (v. Kannan) got going right away, taking on every distance, taking every possible inside lane and making galloping jumps wherever possible. They beat the previous best time by almost five seconds and flew over the finish line in 37.94 seconds without a single fault. Suddenly, the starting position had completely changed.
Could anyone be any faster? Katrin Eckermann and Chao Lee gave a clear answer. Eckermann left nothing to chance and combined aggressiveness with precision, while Chao Lee pushed powerfully through the Schönbrunn Arena. The clock stood at an astonishing 36.42 seconds – flawless and more than a second faster. This was the deserved victory and fourth place for Sophie Hinners at the end.
A serious threat should still come for Katrin Eckermann: Nathan Budd and Ely des Rosiers Z put in an extremely smooth ride and maintained the balance between speed and precision throughout the entire time. They finished the course flawlessly in 37.76 seconds, thus immediately moving up to second place. Gudrun Patteet and Baron – RR Z also did not let up. With another fast, committed and flawless ride, the Belgian pair stopped the clock at 37.89 seconds – faster than Hinners and good enough to move up to third place.
In the end, it all came down to Ciaran Nalon and Christians Carado: The Irishman put in a fluid, confident double-nil ride and stopped the clock at 39.90 seconds, moving up to fifth place.
Sunday evening at 20:15, the stage is ready for the biggest showdown of the weekend: then the Longines Global Champions Tour Grand Prix of Vienna is on the program, which Philipp Weishaupt and Kilmister won last year.